Ashes: Joe Root, Dawid Malan fight doggedly to revive England hopes at Gabba on Day 3

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Brisbane, December 10: Joe Root and Dawid Malan kept the hopes alive for England as the two batters remained unbeaten by the end of Day 3 of the ongoing first Ashes Test here at the Gabba, Brisbane on Friday (December 10).

At the Stumps, England's score read 220/2-- trailing by 58 runs. Malan and Root have played unbeaten knocks of 80 and 86 runs respectively.

Resuming the third session at 107/2 and trailing by 171 runs, the innings acted as a comeback show for the Three Lions as they kept the scoreboard moving.

The duo of Malan and Root came to bat during the second session and remained unbeaten since.

Earlier, Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed provided England with a stable innings but they faced a body blow straight away as Australia skipper Pat Cummins removed Burns (13) in the 9th over of the innings.

Malan then joined Hameed in the middle and the duo put on 38 runs for the second wicket.

However, as soon as both batters started to look comfortable in the middle, Mitchell Starc got the better of Hameed (27) and England was reduced to 61/2 in the 21st over, still trailing by 217 runs.

In the morning, Australia managed to add 82 more runs to the total, extending the lead to 278. In the end, Australia was bundled out for 425 in the first innings. Travis Head was the last wicket to fall, but it was not before he managed to score 152.

Mitchell Starc also chipped in with 35 runs while Nathan Lyon scored 15.

Brief Scores: England 147 and 220/2 (Dawid Malan 80 not out, Joe Root 86 not out; Pat Cummins 1-43) vs Australia 425.

CA confirms NCL schedule change

Cricket Australia on Friday (December 10) confirmed an adjustment to the 2021-22 Women's National Cricket League (NCL) schedule.

Two fixtures between Western Australia and South Australia scheduled for the WACA Ground on December 17 and December 19 have been postponed due to border restrictions between the two states.

The matches will now be played on March 1 and March 3 at the WACA Ground.

"The safety and wellbeing of players, match officials, staff and fans remains our top priority as we endeavour to deliver the entire 29-game WNCL season," Peter Roach, Cricket Australia's Head of Cricket Operations and Scheduling, said in a statement.

"The safety and wellbeing of players, match officials, staff and fans remains our top priority as we endeavour to deliver the entire 29-game WNCL season," he said.

"We look forward to the WNCL getting underway safely next week and thank the States and Territories for their flexibility and understanding as we navigate scheduling challenges," he added.

Several matches between the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Victoria and New South Wales have been rescheduled after a player in an ACT high performance program tested positive to COVID-19.

A number of ACT players and staff, including Meteors

players, have been tested and are undergoing a 7-day quarantine as per ACT Government directives.

All tests have come back negative. Cricket Australia said the fixtures have been moved to allow the ACT Meteors sufficient time to prepare for their matches.